Mobile number portability: What you need to do to shift to a new operator

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Here are the steps to port your mobile number to another service provider.

1. First, you need to generate UPC (Unique Porting Code).

This can be done by sending an SMS to 1900.

The SMS should be in this format: PORT Eg: PORT <99XXXXXXXX>.

This should be sent to 1900

Operator SMS charge will be applicable.

PM to flag off nationwide roll-out of MNP on Jan 20

2. In reply, you will receive a UPC (Unique Porting Code) as SMS from 1901.

The UPC will be an 8 digit alpha-numeric code. You will also receive the date till when the UPC will remain valid in the MM/DD/YYYY format.

3. Send the UPC to the service number of the mobile operator you wish to switch to, through an SMS, if such a number is available.

You can confirm by visiting the operator's website. Else, visit the nearest outlet/showroom of the operator you want to migrate to with your UPC in hand.

4. Some service providers charge a nominal fee for the process, while others like BSNL have advertised free porting.

5. You will also have to fill and submit the prescribed Mobile Number Portability form to the new operator. They could also ask you to submit documents (like photo ID and address proof). Post-paid subscribers will be asked to submit a copy of their latest bill too.

6. Your request could be denied if any of these factors apply:

• You have an unpaid bill on your existing postpaid mobile number.
• Pending request for change of ownership of the concerned Mobile Number
• The mobile number is under contractual obligation
• 90 Days has not lapsed since number activation
• 90 Days has not lapsed since last Porting Request from the same Mobile Number
• You have applied for inter-circle porting
• There is a pending legal case against your mobile number

7. The number portability has to be completed within 7 working days as per process mandated by DoT. You will also receive an SMS mentioning the time and date for porting.

8. Once the switch is complete, you will receive another SMS from the new operator.

Your mobile phone may go 'dead' for 120 minutes, the time when the porting takes place. At the end of it, your migration to your new operator should be complete.

9. One thing you must keep in mind - You can change your operator only once in every 90 days. So, use the service with care

What the various service providers are offering:

BSNL | Airtel | Idea | Vodafone | Tata Docomo | Uninor

ICMR asks people not to panic over Congo virus

Confirming the first case in Ahmedabad of human infection caused by Crimean–Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) virus, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Wednesday asked people not to panic as any possible outbreak of the disease could be controlled by proper hygiene and infection control measures in hospitals where the patients are admitted.

A six-member team of specialists from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) will visit Ahmedabad on Thursday.

Tests conducted at the National Institute of Virology (under ICMR, Pune) have confirmed the presence of the CCHF virus in blood as well as urine samples of a patient.

While reports from Gujarat claimed three persons from Sanad had died and a few others were being treated for the deadly disease, the Centre did not give out any figure of the dead or those affected.

“After proper control measure, the outbreaks can be successfully handled locally. In this instance, awareness among the doctors and also prompt diagnosis at NIV is an evidence of the competence of our system and there should be no reason for any panic reaction,” the ICMR statement said.

However, as of now there is no medicine or vaccine that can prevent or cure the disease. The CCHF virus is known to be transmitted among animals through ticks. It does not affect animals, but kills 20 to 40 per cent of humans who contract it.

The ICMR added that typically, one to three days after the incubation period following a tick bite (5-6 days after exposure to infected blood or tissues), flu-like symptoms appear, which may resolve after a week. In up to 75 per cent of cases, however, signs of hemorrhage appear within 3-5 days of the onset of illness. Patients usually begin to recover after 9-10 days, but it can lead to death in some cases.

The CCHF virus has earlier been reported from Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Pakistan. There is serological evidence of CCHF infection being present in India in animals.

Reports from Ahmedabad suggest that a woman died of the disease on January 3, followed by the doctor and the nurse who had attended on her. The doctors took the nurse's sample which tested positive for the Congo virus. Fifty others are being tested for the disease.

The Gujarat government has already warned of a possible outbreak and started screening process in 16,000 villages.

The virus is said to be highly infectious and causes multi-organ failures after affecting the brain, resulting in convulsions.